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Va education officials decry K-12 budget cuts
By BOB LEWIS
AP Political Writer RICHMOND - (AP) - Gov. Bob McDonnell has proposed deep, unprecedented cuts to public schools, the state government work force and health and welfare safety net programs in a $2.1 billion bid to balance a critically troubled state budget.
The governor’s budget has some bad news for area nature lovers. Caledon Natural Area in King George is among five state parks that would be closed under the proposal. Caledon, stretching over 2,500 acres along the Potomac River, is a haven for bald eagles and other wildlife. The other Northern Virginia park on the list is Mason Neck in Fairfax County. The Republican governor, who ruled out any tax boosts before he took office a month ago, sent shock waves across a General Assembly struggling with its own budget plans and through teachers, state workers. The cuts include rolling back the base state support for local public schools to 2008 levels, using buses longer and not funding sports coaches in education. Other cuts include five unpaid days off annually for state workers, closing five state parks and slashing a programs that aid the homeless and prevent teen pregnancies. “All the cuts gave me heartburn. All of them were difficult because I know that behind every cut there is a Virginian _ somebody in this room or somebody out of the 7.8 million people we have _ that might be affected by that,” McDonnell said after outlining his cuts at a news conference. After weeks of private talks with senior legislators and the staffs of the House and Senate budget-writing committees, McDonnell detailed what he has recommended to them for reconciling a $4 billion shortfall in revenue the state projects through 2012. The General Fund budget for fiscal 2010 is about $14 billion. House and Senate money committees report their new budgets for fiscal 2011 and 2012 on Sunday.
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